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Which oil type for CTSC whipple version

rsevo6

rsevo6

Experienced Member
Joined
31 May 2006
Messages
786
Location
Hazerswoude, The Netherlands
I plan to change the oil in my whipple version CTSC as it rattles quite a lot when idling and this is really irritating me.
By changing the oil, I hope the rattle will perhaps reduce a bit.

I did find a CTSC maintenance description stating that a full synth oil should be used of 20W-50 viscosity, however I do not know if this maintanance description was for the autorotor version or the whipple version.

Anyone know if the 20W-50 oil advice is for the whipple version and if not, which oil should be used in the whipple version?
 
I have the whipple version and I use Royal Purple 20w-50 when I change it. Just don't get your hopes up that by changing the oil the "rattle" will go away. It might help a VERY LITTLE bit but probably not much. The whipple's are known to have that "rattle" noise. :smile:
 
First thing to do is to check you idle rpm.
If its lower than 800-900 then your whipple will rattle more than a hooker with a change dispenser!
My buddy with his 98 had this problem two weeks ago and LarryB says "Clean that throttle body". So we did and it idles properly now, not at 500 rpm anymore! No more sound from the ole Whipple!!!
Changing oil on this rig ain't going to stop noise.
Adding sawdust like I did to my transmission on my 78 dodge magnum might! lol.
Go with the 20w50 synth., thats what I have been told and used.
Trev
Other than that, I have read to only use Whipple SC Oil ONLY!
One manual says New whipples:
Whipple SCOIL-155 (w140)
Whipple SCOIL-200 (w200)
Ford Motocraft XL-4
GM 12345982
 
You can lower the noise of the whipple by going wtih a lower base weight, eg. 5W-X, 10W-X or 15W-X vs the 20W50.

Some might object, but based on my own analys with Terry Dyson, the thinking behind recommending the 20W-50W seems to have been to ensure that it doesn't shear to a point under 20W when it's hot. Also, CT is in California where the whether is generally "warm, warmer, and hot." If you're in Greenland with <0F weather, I don't think 20W50 is the best. When we tested my RP, around 7K miles on the Whipple, it sheared to a 20W flat weight after running for about 6 months (June - January). No more 20W-50W protection and it would have been bad to run it any longer!

If you go with a high quality oil ( I use http://www.renewablelube.com/) since Terry swears by it - and if it's good enough for drag racers, it's good enough for me, a 5W40 (in the winter) will do just fine which is what I ran and it made the Whipple quieter.

I'm now running 15W40HD because it's warmer, both make the supercharger quiter.

BTW: When you guys change your oil - do you use a siphon to suck out every last ounce, pushing it to the 'corners of the sc', or do you just take out until you didn't see it on the dipstick and it gets too difficult to take out? There is a lot more oil than just what shows up on the dipstick, and often, looks like it has the crap beaten out of it! The illusion is that if you only take the top, it looks pretty clean.

What I'm getting at is, I've found 7000 miles to be too long for the RP oil. I pretty much try to change it every time I do my engine oil, 3K-5K, and spend 30+ minutes getting every ounce out.
 
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slownsxt, thanks for a very informative post!
So what you guys saw was that 5,000 to 7,000 miles is the most that should be run on an older whipple system like most of us have.
It must be because of the type of cut on the gears they used and the speed we run them at.
You see some new one stating 100,000 miles.
I will change mine this week since I have speed mine up to 9.5 lb.
Thanks once again.
Trev
 
I have mine done every other oil change. 110k on my CTSC with no issues. Using Mobil 1 15W-50.
 
On my charger it has a sticker that says only use 0w-50. any idea? also, how do you change the oil on the supercharger? lol :biggrin:
 
SUCK IT OUT!
Fill it up, don't over fill it!
Trev
 
ffffanman said:
SUCK IT OUT!
Fill it up, don't over fill it!
Trev
Click to expand...

I find that whenever I fill it to the 'top' - it'll squirt out the blow hole on your engine hatch until it levels out. I now to fill it about 75%-85% of the fill-line which seems to do fine. It also helps you track whether you may be burning any oil, at which point you're in trouble.
 
We are talking Whipple here right......
I do agree to keep the oil level 1/4" down from the full mark on the dip stick.
Whipple's don't burn oil.
They can only leak.
If you have no oil, then you'll burn up your gears.
Trev
 
I really wonder of which CTSC the maintenance sheet with oil advice of 20W-50 is then...:confused:
Document 11.7.05
SUPERCHARGER MAINTENANCE
To insure that your Comptech Supercharged NSX keeps performing at optimum levels for as long as you own it, there are a number of simple maintenance items that need to be addressed at intermittent intervals. It is also very important to keep up on these maintenance items so as not to potentially void your Comptech warranty.
• SUPERCHARGER OIL LEVEL: The supercharger has a self-contained oiling system, and the oil level needs to be checked typically at every fuel fill-up, just as you would the engine oil. This is accomplished via a large silver screw or black knob on the top of the supercharger case. You should maintain approximately 1” of coverage on the dip stick with high quality fully synthetic 20-50w motor oil. There is no specific mileage recommendation for changing the supercharger oil except that it should be changed when it starts to appear dirty. Since there is no drain for the supercharger, the oil needs to be pumped out of the fill hole. A small electric pump or a modified
“turkey baster” can be used to accomplish this. When refilling the supercharger with oil (3.5oz-4oz), be careful not to overfill.
NOTE: Some superchargers have a vent hole on the snout that will allow a small amount of oil to accumulate in that area. This is nothing to be alarmed about, unless it seems excessive (oil overfill), and can be easily wiped off.

Based on the 20W50 mentioned in this maintenance manual (again, I do not know if this is a manual for the whipple or the autorotor version!!) but also on the advice of NSXOTIC911 and ONSOKU I put in:
2wolu3a.jpg


15W-50 Mobil1
The SC rumble is a lot quiter now :rolleyes:
 
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My advice to you is to pay attention to me.:biggrin:

From the Whipple install Instructions:

Add oil to Supercharger: Fill supercharger at unit top by removing
large silver screw dipstick and pouring in a high quality 10W40 synthetic
motor oil (approx. 4 oz. is required). Fill until there is about 1” of coverage on dipstick. DO NOT OVER FILL (this will damage the blower)

From the Autorotor Install Instructions:

Add oil to Supercharger: ​
​
​
​
Fill supercharger at unit top by removing large silver screw dipstick and pouring in a high
quality 20W50 synthetic motor oil (approx. 3.5 to 4 oz. is required). Fill until there is about 1” of coverage on dipstick.​
DO NOT OVER FILL (this will damage the blower)

The maintenance document you are quoting (I have that also) is from 2005
and is for the AutoRotor.

I have never seen any Comptech or CT Engineering documentation that suggests to use 15w50 weight oil. I doubt you have cause any damage using the wrong oil but I suggest you take that oil out and put the correct weight in which for your Whipple is 10w40 synthetic.

The 15w number suggested by others would be alright for the AutoRotor but for the Whipple, it would seem from the information in the installation manual, that it is not a small enough molecule and would seem to suggest it needs to be at least a 10w or smaller.

Personally, being that it is such a small amount of oil, I change mine (Autorotor) every 1000- 1500 miles and with the right tools takes less than 10 minutes.
 
Last edited:
pbassjo said:
My advice to you is to pay attention to me.:biggrin:

From the Whipple install Instructions:

Add oil to Supercharger: Fill supercharger at unit top by removing
large silver screw dipstick and pouring in a high quality 10W40 synthetic
motor oil (approx. 4 oz. is required). Fill until there is about 1” of coverage on dipstick. DO NOT OVER FILL (this will damage the blower)

From the Autorotor Install Instructions:

Add oil to Supercharger: ​
​
​
​
Fill supercharger at unit top by removing large silver screw dipstick and pouring in a high
quality 20W50 synthetic motor oil (approx. 3.5 to 4 oz. is required). Fill until there is about 1” of coverage on dipstick.​
DO NOT OVER FILL (this will damage the blower)

[/SIZE][/FONT]
Click to expand...

FINALLY.............. full disclosure on this :biggrin:
Thanks a lot on giving out this info.
However, my feeling is that the viscosity difference between 15W-50 and 10W-40 is quite small with the 15W-50 giving a much wider temperature range.
Also: here in Europe we tend to push our engines on a daily base a bit more than is usual in the US, thus a bit higher viscosity and temp range has it's purpose and so I think the 15W-50 should do fine as compared to 10W-40.

I remember the discussions on the engine oil with lots of people on Prime beeing focussed on using 0W-30, 5W-30 or 10W-30 as anything else in their opinion could do damage. I and lots of others here in Europe are using 5W-40 or 10W-40 for years now with perfect running engines, on all my turbo engines I am using 5W-50 for almost 2 decades and all has been well.

So thanks again for finally clarifying the oil advise, but for now I think the oil which is in there should do perfect and I like the reduction in the "rumble" noise it has accomplished.:rolleyes:
 
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Re: Which oil type for CTSC Whipple version

We in the NE NSXCA had a very informative tech session with the senior engineer from Mobil in charge of Mobil 1 lubricants.

It was quite in depth and one of the points he made was that it was not advisable to use a 15w when the spec was 10W on the lower side.
His reason was the molecule size of a 15w was larger than the 10w and if the device being lubricated had areas sized for the 10w, the 15w would not be able to fit in and thus not being lubricated properly.

This question was posed because a member who does some hard tracking had move to a 20w50.
On the NSX motor which calls for 10w30, he said a 5w30 was O.K. and even suggested it, but 15w or 20w50 was not.

After listening to him, LarryB and myself and stayed behind to discuss and ask many questions. It was, interesting, informative and I expected neither going in.

I too used Royal Purple and at one time Red line as well.
As soon as I got home I went out and got a quart of 20w50 Mobil 1 for my Autorotor and swapped out the Royal Purple.

I think it unwise to not head clearly stated and purposely engineered manufacturer's specifications when servicing.
 
Last edited:
pbassjo said:
would seem to suggest it needs to be at least a 10w or smaller.

Personally, being that it is such a small amount of oil, I change mine (Autorotor) every 1000- 1500 miles and with the right tools takes less than 10 minutes. ​
Click to expand...


what would be the right tools? thanks.
​
 
His Wifes Turkey Baster.....Thats why he didn't post a picture of it!!!! lol.

Did that Dude ever clean his throttle body to get his rpm back up to normal so his whipple was quieter???

Trev
 
I recently purchased a NSX with the CTSC already installed. How can i tell if it's autorotor or whipple? It came with a 2004 NSX and the supercharger was dealer installed if it helps...

What is the best brand of oil i can put in to limit the noises?
 
Formula 1 uses Neo Oil and that is a known fact in the racing community. They are a mom and pop shop in So Cal. They mix the formula according to your requirements.

Pennzoil Ultra is the official oil of Ferrari. Not Royal Purple, Mobil 1, etc.

Amsoil and Torco are better than the brands I've seen listed so far.
 
Brylek said:
I recently purchased a NSX with the CTSC already installed. How can i tell if it's autorotor or whipple? It came with a 2004 NSX and the supercharger was dealer installed if it helps...

What is the best brand of oil i can put in to limit the noises?
Click to expand...

Post a picture of the unit. Autorotors have a flat top, whipples have two rounded tunnels and fins. You can find pics if you just do a search. There is a whipple in the for sale section. You can go to ct-engineering's site to see an autorotor. Then use the proper oil.
 
Mine is an original Whipple CTSC and the sticker that came on the unit says, "Check oil every 4,000 miles and only use 5W-50 synthetic engine oil."
 

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BATMANs said:
Formula 1 uses Neo Oil and that is a known fact in the racing community. They are a mom and pop shop in So Cal. They mix the formula according to your requirements.

Pennzoil Ultra is the official oil of Ferrari. Not Royal Purple, Mobil 1, etc.

Amsoil and Torco are better than the brands I've seen listed so far.
Click to expand...

There is no one oil brand used in Formula 1.

Exxon-Mobil, Total, Petronas, Shell, ELF are a few among the oils used by various F1 teams which are formulated team/engine specific. These are closely guarded formulas.
Pennzoil, including their product Pennzoil Ultra, is produced and marketed by Shell Lubricants.

I believe Factor X Racing uses NEO lubricants.
 
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Basic question, when taking an oil level reading, are you supposed to screw down the filler cap or just set it on the threads w/o screwing down?
 

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